The present invention realizes a light source unit and a method of cooling the light source unit that reduces any increase in the ambient temperature of a red solid-state light source and thus reduces any decrease in brightness of the red solid-state light source. The light source unit has: a wall having a window, the wall being provided between a light tunnel-side circulation unit that accommodates a light tunnel that is irradiated by the output light of a solid-state light source and a phosphor wheel-side circulation unit that accommodates a phosphor wheel that is excited by the emitted light of the light tunnel; a light tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink that is provided in the light tunnel-side circulation unit; a phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink provided in the phosphor wheel-side circulation unit, a heat-radiating heat sink that is connected to the light tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink and to the phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink by means of a heat pipe; and a cooling fan that cools the heat-radiating heat sink.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A light source unit comprising: a light-tunnel-side circulation unit that accommodates a light tunnel that is irradiated by the output light of a solid-state light source; a phosphor wheel-side circulation unit that accommodates a phosphor wheel that is excited by the emitted light of said light tunnel; a first wall that is provided between said light-tunnel-side circulation unit and said phosphor-wheel-side circulation unit and that is provided with a window through which the emitted light of said light tunnel passes; a light tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink that is provided in said light-tunnel-side circulation unit; a light tunnel-side circulation fan that supplies and circulates gas that has passed by way of said light-tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink, through said light-tunnel-side circulation unit, and toward said light-tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink; a phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink that is provided in said phosphor-wheel-side circulation unit; a phosphor wheel-side circulation fan that supplies and circulates gas that has passed by way of said phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink, through said phosphor-wheel-side circulation unit, and toward said phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink; a heat-radiating heat sink that is connected to said light-tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink and said phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink by means of a heat pipe; and a cooling fan that cools said heat-radiating heat sink.
2. The light source unit as set forth in claim 1 , wherein said heat-radiating heat sink is made up of a light-tunnel-side heat-radiating heat sink that is provided corresponding to said light-tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink and a phosphor wheel-side heat-radiating heat sink that is provided corresponding to said phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink.
3. The light source unit as set forth in claim 1 , wherein: a light tunnel is made up of a first light tunnel that is irradiated by emitted light of a solid-state light source that emits excitation light that excites said phosphor and a second light tunnel that is irradiated by emitted light of a solid-state light source that emits light of a prescribed wavelength; and said window provided in said first wall is made up of a first window that allows the passage of emitted light of said first light tunnel and a second window that allows the passage of the emitted light of said second light tunnel.
4. The light source unit as set forth in claim 3 , wherein said first light tunnel is arranged closer to said light tunnel-side circulation fan than said second light tunnel.
5. The light source unit as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a second wall provided between said light tunnel-side circulation fan and said light tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink so as to partition gas that is supplied to said light tunnel-side circulation unit by means of said light tunnel-side circulation fan and gas that is directed to said light tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink.
6. The light source unit as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a third wall that is provided between said phosphor wheel-side circulation fan and said phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink so as to partition gas that is supplied to said phosphor wheel-side circulation unit by means of said phosphor wheel-side circulation fan and gas that is directed to said phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink.
7. The light source unit as set forth in claim 6 , wherein said phosphor wheel is arranged closer to said phosphor wheel-side circulation fan in the space that is partitioned by said third wall.
8. A cooling method of a light source unit comprising steps of: accommodating a light tunnel into which is irradiated the output light of a solid-state light source in a light-tunnel-side circulation unit; accommodating a phosphor wheel that is excited by the emitted light of said light tunnel in a phosphor-wheel-side circulation unit; providing a first wall between said light-tunnel-side circulation unit and said phosphor-wheel-side circulation unit, said wall being provided with a window that allows the passage of emitted light of said light tunnel; providing a light-tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink in said light-tunnel-side circulation unit; supplying and circulating gas that has passed by way of said light-tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink by means of a light-tunnel-side circulation fan and directing the gas to said light-tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink; providing a phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink in said phosphor-wheel-side circulation unit; supplying and circulating gas that has passed by way of said phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink by means of a phosphor wheel-side circulation fan in said phosphor-wheel-side circulation unit and directing the gas to said phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink; connecting a heat-radiating heat sink to said light-tunnel-side heat-receiving heat sink and said phosphor wheel-side heat-receiving heat sink by means of a heat pipe; and cooling said heat-radiating heat sink by means of a cooling fan.
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March 24, 2017
January 8, 2019
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